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New water-cooled build

I

int

n00b
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
19
In the last two weeks I managed to fry both of the 5850s in my current build, and figured that was a good enough push to build a new machine. Ideally I'll start ordering parts next week, solidifying what I'm getting in the new couple days. Been doing research for about a week - been a few years since I built my last machine (for reference, i7 920 @ 4.1GHz, 6GB memory, 2x160 SSDs, 2x5850 in Crossfire). I was about to build a 15TB FreeNAS box, but decided to build a desktop first, then salvage as many parts as I can from my existing machine and use those to eventually build the FreeNAS server.

Current Build

Here is what I have so far (all of this is going inside a SilverStone TJ07:

CPU
Intel 3770K $329.99

CPU Block
NexXxos XP3 $58.96

CPU TIM
2 x Phobya HeGrease $17.9 ($8.95 each)

Motherboard
ASRock Z77 OC Formula $239.99

RAM
Ballistix 16GB 1600 $139.99

GPU
2 x Galaxy GTX 670 GC $799.98 ($399.99 each)

GPU Block
2 x EK FC670 GTX Full Copper $199.98 (99.99 each)

GPU TIM
See below

Reservoir
See below

Radiator
Thermochill 120x3 already owned

PSU
Corsair 850TX already owned

Pump
Laing DDCT w/ PetraTech DDCT-01s Top already owned

Current Price: ~ USD $2000

Questions
  1. Is there any significant difference between the 3770K and the 3700, aside from the 100MHz increase? That's $20 I could spend elsewhere ($40 if I grab it from NCIX currently).
  2. I'm a long-time ATI user who is switching back to nVidia after a 10+ year hiatus - did I make a decent choice? Is there a better vendor to purchase if I want to OC, or am I more likely to be limited by the 670 overall rathern than Galaxy/EVGA/etc.?
  3. On the Newegg page for the 670 above, the top comment states "With the HardOCP promo and rebate this was the best price for a GTX 670 by far". Any idea which promo that is referring to? $400 a pop is nice; less would be nicer still!
  4. What's the best GPU TIM to use these days? I'm not sure if the EK blocks come with pads already, so I figure I'll pick up some paste just to be safe. Am I safe using something like Phobya, or do I need a special, less-conductive/capacitive TIM?
  5. What's the scoop with nickel-plated everything? From what little I found, it provides no benefit as far as temperatures go (some folks going so far as to say it might raise temperatures by a degree or two), and can cause issues if you mix it with copper. Is it just an aesthetic thing?
  6. Is my little, aging pump going to be able to handle the loop? It's a pretty big case, and my loop will be Rad -> Pump -> CPU -> GPUs (Parallel) -> Res -> Rad. This is where my uncertainty on a reservoir is coming from, too. If I need a bigger pump, I might look into those bay reservoirs with pumps built in. Or those EK tubes that have pumps build into the bottom of 'em - neat! If not, I'll stick with a normal reservoir and call it good.
  7. What's all the hype between compression fittings? A few years ago when I built this box, I got 3/8 barbs with 7/16 tubing. Never had a leak; never even needed a clamp (in fact I removed them because they looked ugly), and it's been running for years without a drip.
  8. Will my PSU be alright running those 670s? It handles my 5850s, but they're a bit older.

Additional Notes

Alright, so that's my build and my issues with it so far. There are a few other issues as well, but I'm working through them. Things like figuring out what tubing I'm going to run (I'll probably stick to what I know: 7/16 Tygon), what fluid I'm using (more than likely distilled water and biocide), wire management, etc. I'm still working through those details, but they aren't really breaking changes.

At this point I'm hunting for some advice and criticism. My knowledge is pretty dated (haven't built a box in years), and although I've been doing a bunch of research to catch up...there are so many new things! So if you've got recommendations, see things that just don't quite make sense, or anything, please say so.

New Build Q/A

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming, software development (VS2010/12 + IntelliJ), media playback (1080, music)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
USD $2000-3000; tax and shipping not included; priority is to get the best bang/buck and the most overclockable parts versus the newest parts

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA, NY, Rochester

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU; CPU Waterblock; SSD; RAM; Motherboard; GPU x 2; GPU Waterblocks; Reservoir; Tubing; Assorted Clamps/WC Accessorise; CPU & GPU TIM

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Corsair 850TX; Thermochill 120x3 Radiator; Laing DDCT w/ PetraTech DDCT-01s Top

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes; CPU primarily, GPUs secondarily.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
28" @ 1920x1200; two 19" @ 1024x1280

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The week of 9/17
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
RAID 0; SLI; USB 3; SATA 6

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7, 64bit; Windows 8, 64bit (though I don't think I'm quite ready to take _that_ plunge)
 
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1) The 3770K can OC past 3.6Ghz whereas the 3770 cannot. Since you plan on overclocking, get the 3770K.
2) Yes. I don't OC video cards so someone else will have to tell you whether or not how overclockable those GPUs are
4 to 7) I don't water cool so hopefully someone else can help you with that. Though I'd probably hit up the the water cooling subforum as thats where the water cooling experts usually hang out, generally not General Hardware.
8) That 850W PSU will be fine. Hell, you probably would have been fine with a high quality 650W PSU. So yeah, that Corsair TX850 will be more than enough.

As for the rest of the PC:

- I'd go with a mobo with a far more solid/extensive track record like the Asus P8Z77-V LK, Asus P8Z77-V, Asus P8Z77-V Pro. or MSI Z77A-GD65 motherboards.

- That RAM is ridiculously overpriced considering that you won't notice a difference between that Crucial set and this cheaper G.Skill set in everyday performance:
$80 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

- Speaking of 2 x 8GB of RAM, which version of Windows 7 do you have? Home Premium? Pro? etc.

- SSD wise, I recommend the Samsung 830, Crucial M4, Plextor M3, Intel 520, or Corsair Performance Pro series SSDs.
 
Thanks for all the help.

That locks in the 3770K as my CPU choice, and I'll cut back on the memory, as well.

Asus and I parted ways years ago after a streak of bad boards, but I'll check out the MSI. I've had really good luck with my ASRock X58 (it got my little 2.6 to 4.1 with no problemo), so I'm a bit partial to them currently.

I'll be running 7 Ultimate on one partition and 8 RTM on the other.

Forgot to include my SSD on there! I was pretty set on the 256GB 830; I am even more set on it because of the $182 price tag currently in the deals forum, so that's definitely the winner there.

Edito: After doing a bit more reading of reviews on hardocp, going to go with the GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H.
 
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